The Rookie Detective
by Snavej
Summary: Mai handed over a travel mug of tea to her partner. "We have a case." Oliver looked up and raised a questioning eyebrow. "Suspected murder on the south side," she elaborated. "Caucasian male in his sixties." [Detective AU]
1. Chapter 1

Mai handed over a travel mug of tea to her partner.

"We have a case."

Oliver looked up and raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Suspected murder on the south side," she elaborated. "Caucasian male in his sixties."

"Murder?"

"Madoka is already covering the forensics and said there was blood everywhere and a knife, so…"

Oliver sighed heavily, locked his PC and stood up. He flicked open the travel mug and yet more steam escaped through the hole. He sipped the scalding liquid without flinching and glanced down at Mai.

"Come on then, Rookie. You can drive."

He threw the keys at Mai and she caught them deftly. She beamed and lead the way down the garage.

* * *

"Detective Davis," Oliver said to the police officer guarding the entry to the apartment. The two detectives flashed their badges. "This is Detective Taniyama."

"In the kitchen," the officer said, letting them pass. "Cleaner found the body, she's been taken to the station for prints and to write up her statement."

Oliver took the lead and surveyed the scene.

"Looks like there was a fight," Mai said, indicating the half smashed chair on the floor.

"Yeah, and we have some blood splatter high up too," Madoka said, walking over. "I've got samples of them all so far, lots of the same set of fingerprints by the looks of it."

"The victim's?"

"I would guess so," Madoka said. "But there's a chance he might have fought his attacker and cut him, so some of the blood might be someone else's. We found the victim's wallet. His name is Kaneyuki Miyama."

"Great, thanks Madoka." Mai smiled at her colleague.

"I'll finish up here and get all the evidence back to the lab."

"Where's Ayako?" Oliver asked. "She's not usually this tardy."

"Maternity leave started last week. We have another coroner on their way but they live a little further away. I'll keep you updated on it."

"We need a time of death," Mai said, more to herself than anyone else. She knelt down beside the corpse, put a glove on and poked Miyama's arm. She then held the back of her hand to his face. "Rigor mortis has set in but he's not completely cold yet. I'd guess eight hours ago at most? Some time during the night definitely."

"Rookie, let's go and knock on doors. See if anyone heard anything. Madoka has this covered," Oliver said.

"That sounded almost like a compliment," Madoka said as Oliver walked away. "I'll get photos to you ASAP."

"Thanks Madoka," Mai said, pulling her glove off. "I'll see you later!"

Oliver had already knocked on the first door. A harassed middle aged woman opened the door. She narrowed her eyes at the pair of them until Oliver flashed his badge. Mai copied the movement.

"We want to know if you heard anything last night."

"What happened to the old geezer?" the woman asked. "Is it true he's dead?"

"What's your name?" Mai asked in a soft voice.

"Helen, Helen Smith."

"Did you hear anything unusual last night, Ms Smith?"

She shrugged.

"Nothing worse than usual while I was awake," Ms Smith replied. "That old git is always making noises at weird times."

"What sort of noises?"

"Like he's moving furniture around? I'm so used to it that I've given up complaining. I wear ear plugs at night. I didn't hear anything past half ten. My husband is away too, so he wouldn't have heard a thing."

"What can you tell us about Mr Miyama? Do you know him well?" Oliver asked.

Ms Smith turned her attention to Oliver.

"He's a grumpy old man. He's not very polite, doesn't hold doors for people, you know? Maggie down the hall has a baby and he just let the door slam on her pram. Is he dead then?"

"Yes," Mai replied. "He is, we don't know how it happened yet."

"The landlady had CCTV installed on the front door a year or so ago," Ms Smith said, "That might help you?"

Mai finished jotting it all down.

"Yes, that's worth knowing. If you think of anything else, here's my card. Don't hesitate to get in touch."

She handed over a business card.

Ms Smith took it, forced a smile and retreated inside her flat.

"We'll need to check out the CCTV," Mai muttered. "I'll get on that once we're done here."

Oliver nodded his approval.

They moved on to the next flat, but the story was pretty much the same. No one saw or heard anything unusual and everyone thought Mr Miyama was a grumpy old man that was not worth their time.

"Do you get the idea that this block of flats aren't really a community?" Mai asked.

"Hmm."

"I'll get on the CCTV."

"The coroner should have arrived by now. I'll get their preliminary findings."

Mai headed down, Oliver headed up. Mai knocked on the ground floor flat door, which had been labelled 'Landlady - Olivia Root, Business times: 10:00 - 15:00'.

The door opened.

"Are you going to tell me why I have coppers filling my building, hmm?" The woman, presumably Olivia Root, stood with her hand on her hip.

"I'm sorry Ma'am," Mai said, yet again showing her badge. "I'm Detective Taniyama. Mr Miyama, in flat 8, died sometime during the night."

"Was he murdered?"

"We're still investigating, we'll keep you up to date with any new news. Did you hear or see anything last night that was out of the ordinary?"

"No, and he's so far up that I wouldn't have heard even if there had been anything weird."

"What can you tell me about Mr Miyama?"

"He paid his rent on time and lots of people liked to complain about him. I often passed on the requests for him to be more considerate and he just stared blankly at me. I did wonder if he was deaf. Or maybe just useless at English." She shrugged. "I presume you want to see the CCTV?"

"Please."

"Come in then. What times?"

Mai followed Ms Root into a small home office.

"The last 24 hours would be great."

Ms Root grabbed a memory stick and plugged it in.

"I'll save it onto this for you…"

"Thank you very much, I'll get the stick back to you as soon as possible."

"Don't worry about it."

Mai smiled appreciatively.

"Just let me know when I can advertise the flat, I can't afford to miss out on too much of the rent. I had to do repairs on the plumbing last month and things have been tight."

Ms Root handed over the memory stick.

"Will do, thank you for your cooperation. Here's my card if you think of anything else."

Mai started to leave, but Ms Root spoke up.

"Miyama never had friends over. I usually notice who does and doesn't have guests and I never saw him have anyone over. That's not to say he didn't, but… I don't think anyone will miss him."

"Thank you."

Mai found Oliver waiting by the car.

"You were right with the estimate. The coroner said between midnight and 2 AM," Oliver muttered. "Did you get the CCTV?"

"Yes," Mai held up the memory stick, "What have you got there?"

"Victim's laptop, going to get it to Lin."

"Looks awfully expensive," Mai commented as they climbed into the car. "I always expect old people to have old tech…"

"It's expensive considering where he lived," Oliver agreed. "Let's get back to the station."

* * *

"His password was his date of birth," Lin muttered. "Old people owning tech makes my life so much easier…"

"Anything in his calendar or internet history?"

"A guy this old using an electronic calendar? I doubt it but I'll check."

Oliver took a seat while Lin worked. Mai had made him another travel mug of tea and he sipped it while he waited.

"Nothing in the calendar app," Lin muttered. "And his email is basically empty too. He's got a few emails from the landlady and some stuff from Amazon. And some from what looks like a club?"

"A club? Like a sports club?"

"No, like a partying and drinking club. They're advertising happy hours on Wednesday nights."

"Spam?"

"I guess so," Lin said as he flicked through the screens on the laptop. "And his internet history is… Disturbing."

"Disturbing?"

"Well, a lot of streaming of horror porn by the looks of it."

"And how do you know what—"

"I've done this job long enough," Lin muttered.

Before Oliver could ask anything else, Lin's office phone rang. He answered it, holding it against his ear with his shoulder.

"Yeah, he's here," he muttered. "I'll let him know."

He put the phone down.

"Madoka?" Oliver guessed.

"Yeah, she's identified some of the blood as the victim's, obviously. But there is a second donor, she's running the search now."

"Great. I'm going to check out what Mai's found."

"Check Mai out more like," Lin said in a low voice.

"I heard that," Oliver retorted.

"You were supposed to."

Oliver walked out of the computer lab.

He found Mai watching the CCTV on double speed. The screen showed the front door of the block of flats. Every time a new person came in, Mai paused the footage and made a few notes.

"How's it going?"

"Everyone accounted for so far, I asked for 24 hours worth so I could see if our potential murderer came in earlier. So far, everyone that's come in has left again, or lives there. I've made notes against the flat numbers of the people we met earlier."

"Good. It's getting late, you should head home."

"Says you," Mai teased. "Mr Workaholic."

"I'm heading off now," Oliver muttered. "It turns out my mother shops at the same supermarket as Yasuhara and she suggested that he and I should go out for dinner. She is worried I have no friends and recognised him from the Christmas party."

Mai's eyes widened.

"Does she know that Yasuhara is gay?"

"No."

"So she doesn't know that he had the biggest crush on you last year?"

"He did?" Oliver asked, frowning.

"Yes, it was ridiculous. I mean he got over it but… These feelings linger..." She left a delicate teasing inflection in her voice.

"I will ensure he knows that this dinner is as friends then," Oliver said with a sigh. "My mother is so troublesome."

"At least she loves you." Mai beamed and waved Oliver away. "I'll finish up to the next hour, then I'll head home."

"You better do, Rookie. I don't want to see you yawning tomorrow."

* * *

Yasuhara laughed as Oliver finished explaining.

"I knew Mai would snitch on me, what a cow," Yasuhara said.

"I do not want—"

"We're friends, Oliver, don't worry. I got over you long ago. Mai's just trying to divert attention from her—"

"Don't," Oliver muttered. "There is nothing between me and her. She is my partner and that is all."

"Of course," Yasuhara said, not believing a word.

"There is nothing between us," Oliver insisted.

"I agreed with you!"

"No you didn't," Oliver said and Yasuhara smiled again.

The waiter came over at that moment and the act of giving their orders broke up the argument.

"When are you done with your annual leave?" Oliver asked, once the waiter had left.

"Thursday, I've finished painting now," Yasuhara said. "Just got to put together my new furniture. Sleeping on a mattress on the floor is not fun."

"If you need a hand—"

"I'll ask Monk," Yasuhara said.

"I was going to offer my assistance."

Yasuhara smirked.

"No offence, but I remember when we had new furniture at work and you were a nightmare."

"It's not my fault the people that put it together were incompetent," Oliver said. "You're not an incompetent fool. You would listen when I tell you that you're doing it wrong."

"I wouldn't do it wrong in the first place."

"True…"

"What are you working on at the moment?"

"Suspected homicide," Oliver said. "Well, we're waiting on the post mortem, but something was fishy about the crime scene."

"Who's doing it at the moment? Ayako is off now, isn't she?"

"Some guy from the next town over. He insisted on taking the body back to his facility rather than using ours."

"I can understand that."

"It's going to delay things though."

"Yeah, have you contact next of kin?" Yasuhara asked.

"We haven't found one yet."

Their food came not long after, and they moved the conversation onto happier topics.

* * *

"Mai, have you been here all night?"

"Monk? What? No… I did have a nap," Mai insisted, still watching the footage.

Monk sighed heavily and opened his mouth to scold the young detective.

"I'm fine, honestly. So don't bother moaning at me."

He sighed again.

"Have you found anything yet?"

"Yeah, I think I have…"

"What is it?" Monk slid into the chair next to Mai and had a look at the screen. "That looks like—"

"I know, right? But look at this still," Mai pulled up another image. "He looks right at the damn camera on his way out."

"That's uncanny."

"Did you see him last year? When he went undercover for that drugs bust? We gave him a beard then. This is a picture from that," Mai pulled up yet another image.

"They're identical," Monk said, gaping. "Fuck…"

The phone rang.

"Mai speaking." Mai listened. "I'll be there in a minute." She put the phone down. "Monk, come with me, please."

"Sure…"

She hastily printed the images and shoved them in a file, so that they weren't visible as she walked through the station.

"Maybe he just has a doppelganger," Monk mutters. "Where are we going?"

"Madoka has something for me."

They entered Madoka's lab to see her looking concerned.

"I've rerun it twice," Madoka said, running her hands through her hair. "I've double checked for faults and I even ran it on a different machine but…"

She turned the screen so that Mai and Monk could see the results of the blood DNA test.

"Well shit," Mai said. "Print that for me. Print all the results for me."

Madoka bit her lip and complied.

* * *

 **Author's note: Okay so this is five chapters long and detective stories are really hard so I don't think this will be very good... But I tried! Please review :)**


	2. Chapter 2

Oliver yawned as he entered the station. He needed a cup of tea. Perhaps Mai would make him one. She often took pity on him.

He did not notice the strange stares he was getting. He did not notice the hush whispers.

He did notice that Mai was waiting for him. Monk was standing a little behind her. She did not have a travel mug of tea ready for him.

"Detective Davis, can you come with me, please?"

"Rookie? What's going on?" Oliver frowned at the use of his surname.

"Come with me," Mai repeated.

"Okay."

She lead him to an interview room and offered him the seat where the interviewee usually sat. Oliver sat, still confused. Monk had followed them in and was now waiting by the door.

"What's going on? Is this a prank? I'm too tired if it—"

"I finished watching the footage."

"You didn't go home," he accused, annoyed.

"And I found someone who went in with Miyama, and came out alone."

"That's—"

"Madoka also managed to get a match on the other blood that was found." Mai opened her folder. "Do you remember this?"

She placed an image print out on the table between them.

"The undercover drugs case from a year ago? What of it?" Oliver glanced down at his own mugshot. Oh how that beard had been so annoying.

"Compare it to this," Mai said, placing the CCTV screenshot down. "There is a similarity, don't you think?"

Oliver frowned, looking between the two images.

"This CCTV is not high quality, I'm sure that—"

"This is the results of the blood testing."

Mai placed another print out down.

"This is one of Madoka's pranks—"

"Do you have an alibi for Sunday night?"

"Mai, you know I live alone."

"Please answer the question, do you have an alibi for Sunday night, between the hours of 10 PM and 3 AM?"

"If you are not placing me under arrest, I am going to leave now."

Oliver stood up.

"Oliver Davis, you are under arrest. You—"

"Mai, this is ridiculous."

"You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to be speak to an attorney, and to have an attorney present during any questioning. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be provided for you. Do you understand what I just said to you?"

"Mai—"

"Do you understand?"

Oliver's expression hardened.

"I want to see my lawyer."

He sat down, folded his arms, and refused to say another word.

* * *

Mai called for the lawyer herself. They had left Oliver in the interrogation room.

"Masako Hara speaking."

"Masako, it's Mai, we need your services."

"I can be over in half an hour. Who's my client? What do you think they did?"

Mai opened her mouth and felt her voice break as she tried to speak. She and Masako were friends outside of work, which made everything somehow worse.

"It's… It's O-Oliver Davis. And suspected murder."

"What?"

"I'll explain more when you get here."

Masako arrived in half the stated time. Mai gave her a quick rundown of the situation and allowed her to see her client for a few minutes in private before they began questioning again. Mai entered and set down the evidence again.

"We have photographic and DNA evidence that you were at the crime scene on the night of the crime."

Masako did not allow Oliver to speak.

"I would like it to go on record," she began, "That Detective Taniyama has romantic feelings for my client and that it is marring her judgement."

Mai's mouth dropped open.

Monk spoke through the intercom from the room behind the two way glass.

"Mai, is this true?"

Mai managed to recover herself.

"It doesn't matter either way, she's cast doubt on my character. Monk, take over the interrogation."

Mai strode out, walked past Monk and into the viewing room. Lin and Madoka were watching. Monk introduced himself for the tape, and began again with exactly what Mai had been saying.

"Shouldn't you two be working?"

"I'm waiting on other DNA results, we found some hair but I think it's the cleaner's," Madoka said.

"And she wasn't seen to enter until the morning," Mai muttered. "It can't have been her."

She looked to Lin for his own explanation.

"I'm done with the laptop," he said. "All I found were grotesque amounts of horror porn, a load of emails from what turned out to be a gay bar, and that I think our victim must have made his own soap."

"His own soap?" Mai asked.

"Yeah, he bought large quantities of lye. People use it to make soap," Lin explained.

"Yeah, I have a friend that does that," Madoka said. "She makes a killing selling it online. But it can be used to dispose of bodies too."

"What?"

"Drug cartels in Mexico have owned up to using it to dispose of bodies. A lye and water mixture can break down a body through alkaline hydrolysis."

"Madoka, that's gross. What on earth would an old man want to…" Mai trailed off. "How would you get rid of it after the body was gone?"

"You could pour it down the sink if you really wanted," Madoka said off-handedly. "As long as everything is broken down, it wouldn't block anything up."

"But if it wasn't properly broken down, it could block things?"

"I guess so? Why?"

"The landlady said she had to get repairs done on the plumbing," Mai mused.

"You really think the old man was disposing of bodies?"

"I'm not sure I believe he was making soap. He didn't have any books in his apartment, and if there was nothing in his internet history about how to do it..."

"We didn't find any large quantities of soap in his bathroom," Madoka said. "His bathroom was weirdly clean and empty if anything."

They turned their attentions to the interrogation and watched for a few minutes. Monk was asking Oliver about his whereabouts on the previous Sunday.

"So, let's say the old man was murdering people," Lin said in a quiet voice. "Do you think Oliver killed him to stop him killing any more?"

"That makes no sense," Mai replied. "He's a detective. He could have arrested him and sent him to prison. We've put this much together already with evidence, so it's not like we couldn't investigate if something was wrong?"

"And Noll doesn't do vigilante justice," Madoka commented. "He likes following the rules too much."

"Only the rules he thinks are sensible," Mai corrected.

They fell silent again.

"So can you give any explanation of why your blood was found at the scene?" Monk asked.

Mai watched Oliver roll his eyes.

"I don't know. Maybe I have a twin I don't know about. Maybe Madoka is useless at her job. Maybe someone is deliberately setting me up."

Mai cocked her head to one side.

"He could be onto something there…" she mumbled.

"I'm not useless at my job," Madoka muttered with a frown.

"No, not that. You're brilliant and he knows it," Mai said. "No, the other thing…"

"Why would someone set him up?" Lin asked. "It could be someone he put away?"

"No, not that either." Mai bit her lip. "Oliver was adopted. He might actually have a twin."

"Adopted?"

"Yeah, I met his parents once, kind of by accident. He needed picking up for a case we were working at he was at his parents. They invited me in and everything. I was only there five minutes, but it was clear that they weren't his biological parents," Mai explained.

"Clear? Clear how?"

"Well they were both caucasian for starters," Mai muttered. "But I asked him about in in the car afterwards and he told me."

"That surprises me," Lin said. "He's a private person. It's unlike him to share personal stuff like that."

"Yeah," Madoka agreed. "I asked him once how his weekend was and he told me to mind my own business."

Lin rolled his eyes.

"No, you asked him if he'd got laid because he looked remotely less miserable than usual."

"Same thing."

"I'm going to follow this up," Mai said, ignoring her colleagues. "Tell Monk where I've gone, phone me if something else comes up."

* * *

The orphanage where Oliver had been flattened many years ago and the records were lacking. Mai had no choice but to visit Oliver's parents and ask them.

She arrived on their doorstep just before lunch and knocked.

The door opened to an older lady. Oliver's mother.

"Hi, I don't know if you remember me, but—"

"You're Mai. You work with my son," she said. "Why are you here? Is Noll in trouble?"

"Can I come in, Mrs Davis?"

"It's Dr Davis, actually, but you can call me Luella." She stepped aside and allowed Mai inside.

"I'm sorry, I didn't—."

"It's fine," Luella said with a smile, "You didn't know. Now tell me what trouble Noll has gotten himself into."

Luella offered Mai a seat in the living room. They sat and Mai gave the lowdown.

"He was the only child with his surname at the care home," Luella said, frowning. "If he'd had a sibling, we would have taken them both." She hummed to herself for a moment. "Let me find the paperwork."

Luella disappeared for a few minutes and returned with a massive binder.

"Right, let me see…" She opened it and began to flick through the sheets of paper inside. "He was born Oliver E.C. Griffiths, it's not written here what the middle names are, we dropped them when we adopted him."

"Do you know anything about his birth parents?"

"Nothing I have proof for," Luella replied. "But the story the carers were telling when we adopted him was that his birth father beat his birth mother."

"So he might have a record," Mai mused. "Perhaps I can find something now I've got a surname…"

"This was him when we adopted him," Luella said, taking a photo out of the folder. "He was such a quiet kid."

Mai took the photo.

"He was adorable."

"He was always such a good kid, barely ever got in trouble," Luella said. "Such a clever boy. Did you know he has a doctorate too? He finished in PhD and then decided he could do more good in the world by becoming a detective. So he did it."

"He has a PhD?"

"Yes, in Physics."

"Woah…"

"He doesn't talk much about himself, does he?" Luella asked.

"Not really. I was the only person at the station that knew he was adopted. Everyone else…"

"He talks about you a lot," Luella said.

"What?"

"He visits us a lot, and he talks about you. He thinks very highly of you."

Mai blushed and looked away.

"I should get back to work."

"I'm glad Noll has someone like you to look after him."

"Thank you, Luella."

Mai returned to her car and phoned the station. Monk picked up.

"Lin said you were following a lead?"

"Yeah, do you have time to search for something for me?"

"We're about to go and search Oliver's apartment."

"Oh damn, he's not going to like that," Mai muttered.

"He doesn't have to like it. I need to find something to prove him innocent… Madoka has gone back to the crime scene to look for more evidence. Oh and the coroner called, he hasn't written up the report yet but he says cause of death was blunt force trauma to the back of the head."

"So he was hit?"

"Or he fell… Eugh. This is a mess. Want to come and search this apartment?"

"Sure, patch me through to Lin, I'll ask him to do my search. I'll meet you there after. Ask Oliver for his keys "

Monk forwarded the call and Lin picked up.

"Hi Lin, can you do a search on the name Griffiths for me?"

"Oliver's birth surname?"

"Yeah, his birth father might have a record so we might be able to find him through it. We might be able to find a potential twin that way," Mai explained.

"Monk doesn't think there's anything in it."

"What?"

"He's letting you follow this lead to keep you out of the way. He's been formally tasked to this case now, as Yasuhara's out, he hasn't had any major cases. You're kind of partners at the moment."

Mai sighed.

"Great. Phone me if you find anything."

"Will do."

Mai hung up and started the engine of her car, she was about to pull away when something hit her window. She screamed and looked around to see Luella knocking.

Clutching at her chest, Mai wound down her window.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to make you jump. I just thought of something," Luella said quickly.

"Yes, go on," Mai said, forcing a smile.

"When Oliver was young, just after we first adopted him, he went on a lot about a Gin or Jin or something like that? He wasn't even four at the time so I assumed it was an imaginary friend but… Maybe it wasn't. Maybe that was his brother's name?"

Mai noted it down in her notebook and handed over her card.

"Thank you, phone me if you think of anything else."

* * *

 **Author's note: So my car is now all fixed! Literally finished like half an hour ago so that's good! Now I shall turn my attention to finishing some of my WIPs...**


	3. Chapter 3

"This is like a damn show home," Monk commented.

"What did you expect?" Mai asked.

They searched the apartment for clues until—

"Arrghh!"

"Monk! What is it?"

"Get it off me!"

Mai raced through the apartment to find a grey fluff ball attacking Monk. She grabbed the cat and pulled it from her friend.

"Hey, kitty, calm down," she said soothingly.

The cat calmed down, but continued to glare at Monk.

"What did you do?" Mai asked.

"I moved the food bowl," Monk muttered as he rinsed his scratched hands under the tap.

"Big mistake, huh… Who knew Oliver had a cat?"

"You didn't?"

"No…" Mai mumbled, reading the tag on the cat's collar. She placed the cat down on the floor. "Her name is Luna."

"Go figure… I'm going to search somewhere other than the kitchen. I do not want to get scratched up again."

Monk headed into the bathroom and Mai finished up in the kitchen. She also fed the cat — who knew when Oliver would come back?

Mai headed next into the bedroom. The walls were lined with bookshelves that were full to the brim. The duvet had been thrown onto the bed so that to the unobservant eye, the bed would appear made up. One of the curtains had been pulled back, leaving the other covering the window.

"This isn't how you imagine seeing this room for the first time, huh?" Monk said from the doorway.

"Oh, shut up. Now is really not the time."

"There's nothing in the bathroom apart from a lot of almost empty shower gel bottles," he said. "But I found his laptop in the study, I'm gonna give it to Lin."

"This is horrible," Mai said as she leant down to check under the bed. "I never thought I'd have to do this to someone I knew…"

"It sucks," Monk agreed as he checked the chest of drawers. "But I haven't seen anything suspicious."

"He's a detective," Mai muttered. "If he wanted to hide stuff from us, he would know exactly how to do it. Think about it, we know basically nothing about him."

"I'm going to do another sweep, I'll meet you outside."

Mai sighed and opened the wardrobe. She recognised the clothing. Grabbing a holdall from the bottom of the wardrobe, Mai made the decision to put together an overnight pack for Oliver. She may know nothing about him, but he was still her fri… Her partner.

Monk was waiting, leant against the hood of his car.

"What's that?"

"Overnight bag. If we're keeping him in custody, he was as well be comfortable."

"You're giving him preferential treatment."

Mai climbed into her car, ignoring Monk's words. She watched him sigh and climb into his own car. She followed him back to the station to find Masako waiting for her.

"I'm sorry about what I said," Masako started. "It's in his best interests though."

"I know," Mai muttered. "I just wish you hadn't done it there. Give him this."

She pushed the bag into Masako's arms and then walked off in the direction of Lin's lab.

Monk was already in there, handing over Oliver's laptop.

"Fuck…" Lin muttered. "He's going to hate me."

"Not if you prove him innocent," Monk muttered. "Call me if you find anything."

He left.

"This is so shit," Lin said to Mai, who took a seat.

"Tell me about it."

"You realise I could forge something right? I could make it look like he was on this laptop and use geotagging to show his location."

"He's innocent," Mai said. "I know it. We don't need to fake stuff. Now did you find anything about a Griffiths?"

"Yeah, I found some pretty nasty reports," Lin said, pointing to his computer. "Feel free to read…"

Mai moved over to the desk and wiggled the mouse. The screensaver faded and she was greeted by the side of some truly horrific pictures.

An asian woman lay at the bottom of some stairs, blood marring her features. Teeth had been knocked out of her mouth, now resting in her hair. Her body lay at a funny angle, her arms bent in places they should not.

Mai covered her mouth.

"That's Kazuko Griffiths, wife of Jeffery Griffiths. He beat her to death. According to his statement, he was fed up of her drinking and her 'not being a proper wife'. The house was reportedly in unlivable conditions."

"And children? Were there children?"

"The report indicates there was, but the records have been sealed to protect the identity of those children. You'd need a judge to release them. Or…" Lin lowered his voice. "I could use some back channels…"

Mai minimised the images.

"What happened to Jeffery Griffiths?"

"Sent to gaol, minimum sentence 15 years, he was released on parole at the 15 year mark because he was not deemed a threat to anyone else. It was only his wife he ever showed violence to… That was ten years ago."

"Where is he now?"

"He lives about forty five minutes away, I can get you his address. He's checked in with his parole officer every time it's been requested. He was a model prisoner. He works as a bathroom salesman now."

"Give me his address, and see if you can find anything out about the children," Mai ordered. "If you can't, he can at least confirm the existence of a twin."

* * *

Mai had never wanted to speed more than when she drove towards Oliver's birth father. She didn't though. And she resisted the urge to put her flashing blue lights on too…

She parked up outside the retail park store and strode in, head held high.

"Hello, Ma'am, how can I help you today?" a young woman asked with a fake smile plastered across her overly made up face.

"I'm looking for Jeffery Griffiths."

"He's in his office," the woman said, frowning. "Do you want me to get him?"

Mai read her name badge and pulled her own badge out of her pocket.

"Sarah, I think it's best if you take me to him, I think the privacy would be beneficial."

She flashed her badge, Sarah's eyes widened.

"Come with me, is he in trouble?"

"Not at all," Mai said. "But I think he might be able to help me with a case."

The office was right at the back of the store. Sarah knocked and stuck her head in.

"Jeff, there's a police woman here to see you."

Mai could not see him, but heard the terse words exchange.

"Oh for fucks sake, I've got to get these accounts done. What does she want?"

"To ask you some questions."

"Show her in, then get back on the floor."

Sarah stepped aside. Mai strode in and shut the door behind her.

"I have not broken my parole, what on earth is this about? Showing up at my place of work like this!"

Mai was relieved to see that Jeffery did not look too much like Oliver. The only feature they shared was their eyes. She guessed Oliver took after his mother's side of the family.

"I am hoping you can help me with a case. I want you to tell me about your sons."

"I don't have any children."

"Mr Griffiths, might I remind you that lying to a police detective would be in violation of your parole."

Jeffery grimaced and looked away.

"I haven't seen them since before I went to prison. I know nothing about them," he spat.

"Can you tell me their names? The judge has sealed the records. You could stop an innocent man going to prison."

He pinched the top of his brow.

"Oliver… I can't remember the middle names. She came up with them. I didn't care."

"And your other son?"

"Eugene. Again, I have no idea about middle names."

"And they were identical?" Mai pressed.

"Yes. I could never tell them apart. I doubt she could half the time, she drank so much. Is that all?"

He looked up.

"Yes. Unless you know anything else about what happened to them?"

Jeffery shook his head.

"They went into a care home. That's all I was told. Better off there, if I'm honest. Look, I never wanted to be a father. I only married her because she got pregnant and wouldn't have an abortion." He shook his head again. "It was an accident. She didn't want to be a mother but her parents had been religious zealots… Those kids were better off in care."

Mai studied Jeffery's face. He suddenly looked a lot older than his 45 years. He went on without any prompting.

"I was in a bad place back then, you know? Seventeen, two babies, no proper job and a wife that wouldn't stop drinking… My parents weren't… They didn't… I wish I never did what I did, but going to prison was the best thing that ever happened to me." He jabbed the desk with his finger. "They gave me structure and help and…"

He faltered.

"Would you want to meet them?" Mai asked in a quiet voice.

"No," he said firmly. "I'm not part of their lives. I don't deserve to be." He paused. "But— But if you need anything else. You can ask. I will help them, from afar, if needed."

"Thank you for your time, Mr Griffiths. I'll show myself out. Good luck with your accounts."

Mai left Jeffery with his head in his hands.

She had to take a few minutes to breathe when she got back into her car. But she had what she needed. A name. She rang Lin.

"Hey, I've got a name."

"So do I. Eugene Griffiths," Lin said. "Does that match what you have?"

"Yes. He went into care after Jeffery killed his wife."

"Exactly."

"But not the same place as Oliver, right? Luella, Oliver's mother, said that he was the only one there with his surname. That she'd been told there was no siblings."

"Right," Lin confirmed. "They were split up due to lack of space, the people in charge planned to put them back together as soon as possible. But Oliver was adopted before that could happen."

"What happened to Eugene then?"

"By the looks of it, he was bounced around the system for a while, in and out of foster homes until the age of sixteen."

"What happened then?" Mai asked.

"He ran away."

"Any clue why?"

"No, the foster parents at the time said he was a bad kid, blah blah blah. We've got nothing on him until a year or so ago. He was arrested for anti-social behaviour one town over. Near Yasuhara's old place by the looks of it."

"What kind of anti-social behaviour?"

"Drunken behaviour, suspected ties to prostitution. He was let go with a warning. I've got a picture here… Damn. It's him. He's got the beard and everything. Damn…"

"Prostitution? Buying or selling?"

"Selling."

"Where are the known prostitution pick up spots in that town?"

"I will send you some addresses now."

"Send me the mugshots too."

Mai hung up and took a deep breath.

"Fuck."

Her phone buzzed as the messages came through. She plugged the first address into her phone. She had to find him.

* * *

Knock knock knock.

Yasuhara frowned. He wasn't expecting anyone. He put down his tools — making this bookshelf wasn't going too well anyway — and went to open his front door.

Barely anyone even knew his new address…

He did a double take when he saw who was standing on the other side of the door.

"Gene? I've never seen you when it's so light. Damn I thought you were someone else for a moment…"

"I'm sorry," Gene said, lowering his head. "I just… I should go."

"No, come in. What's wrong?"

Yasuhara all but dragged Gene over the threshold.

"You said I could come to you if I was in trouble and… I just need… I don't know…"

Yasuhara shut the door.

"You smell like you need a shower. Have you eaten today? What happened? Bad client?"

"Something like that. Guy got violent."

"Damn, are you okay?" Yasuhara asked. Gene nodded. "Look, I should probably eat now. So I'll make us some food, you go shower."

"I can't pay—"

"You don't have to."

"I haven't been working since it happened and… I ran out of money and…"

"Go shower. We'll get some food in you. And you can tell me all about it."

"Thank you, Osamu. I owe you," Gene mumbled.

"You owe me nothing."

* * *

Mai knew as soon as she flashed her badge, these people weren't going to help her. But she had no choice. She could see them recoil and try to blend into the walls.

"I'll buy food for whoever helps me find this man," she said, showing the image on her phone. Eyes flicked to it. "No one is in trouble here. I'm just trying to help someone out. Let me help them."

Most turned away.

"I'm not interested in anything you're doing here. I promise."

A shorter man edged Mai's way.

"He's not been around here for a while," he muttered. "He moved spots when his sugar daddy moved house."

"Where did he move to?" Mai asked quickly.

"Gene said this guy would help any of us out, if we really needed it." The man rummaged in his pockets and pulled out a piece of paper. "Ichigoya. That's his address. Gene moved spots to be closer to him. He's a good client. He's gentle. Pays well."

Mai took a picture of the address.

"You're sure this is the right guy?"

"Yeah, Gene's been around for years. He keeps an eye on the new kids, you know?" The man gave a half smile. "If anyone knows where he is, his sugar daddy will."

"Thank you. Genuinely, I cannot thank you enough. Come on, let me get you some food. What do you want?"

The man chose KFC, much to Mai's surprise. He ordered one of the giant family bargain buckets to go.

"I'll share it with the others. They're just scared, you know? Most people have bad experiences with cops."

Mai nodded, understanding.

She returned to her car and typed out the address into her GPS. A frown crossed her face. The street name was familiar… But she could not place it.

* * *

 **Author's note: I'm getting worse at updating on time... It's because it was my six year anniversairy with my BF yesterday so we went out for korean BBQ... Ah well, please review :)**


	4. Chapter 4

"So what happened?" Yasuhara asked Gene as he began to wash up.

"Guy approached me, took me back to his place. And then he wasn't so interested in what he asked for. He… He attacked me."

"Damn."

"I shoved him off me and ran but… I don't know. It's not the first time… But it felt so planned. Like he wanted to hurt me."

Yasuhara put the last dish on the drying rack and turned to see Gene half lying on his sofa. The man looked exhausted.

"Where have you been sleeping?"

"I haven't. I haven't been working so I ran out of money for the shelter and…"

"And you only came to me now?"

"I didn't want to bother you. I also had to steal enough money to get the bus back to this town."

"This guy took you out of town?"

"Yeah."

Yasuhara took a seat as Gene continued.

"Hey, you said I looked like someone. Who was it?"

"Oh, just a guy from work…"

"Am I a substitute for him?" Gene asked. There was no malice in his voice.

Yasuhara's heart clenched.

"Of course not."

"It wouldn't be the first time. A lot of people use people like me to fulfil fantasies…"

"Gene, you couldn't replace anyone in my eyes."

"I bet you say that to all the boys," Gene teased, with a half smile.

A sharp knock on the door made them both turn.

"Who is it?" Gene demanded, smile gone.

"I don't know," Yasuhara replied honestly. "I wasn't expecting anyone. You can hide in the bedroom if you want."

Gene complied with this suggestion. Yasuhara waited until the bedroom door was shut before opening the front door.

"Mai? What are you doing here?"

"I'm here on business, Yasuhara. You want to tell me why a prostitute has your address?" Mai demanded.

"I…"

"He didn't seem to know you were a cop, either."

"Mai, this isn't a good—" Yasuhara held his hands up, trying to block the view into his apartment.

"Do you know who this is?" Mai flashed the image of Eugene Griffiths in Yasuhara's face.

"Mai, please. I can explain, but not ri—"

Mai's head cocked to one side.

"He's here, isn't he?"

"Mai! Please!"

Mai pushed past Yasuhara.

"Eugene Griffiths, come out of wherever you're hiding," she declared. "If you come quietly, it'll be a lot easier."

Nothing moved.

"Yasuhara, call him out," Mai ordered. "Soliciting a streetwalker is an offence and you know it. Don't make me arrest you too."

Yasuhara scowled.

"Gene, come out, please."

He looked away, disgusted with himself.

The bedroom door opened, slowly.

"Osamu?" Gene's voice quavered. "Why is she calling you Yasuhara?"

"Because that's my real name."

"What?"

"I use the name Osamu Ichigoya with certain people, so that I will not get caught out," Yasuhara said, his mouth a hard line. "My real name is Osamu Yasuhara."

"She said you were a cop… Is that true?"

Yasuhara looked away.

"Yes."

Gene sank to the floor.

"Come with me, Mr Griffiths," Mai said softly.

Gene looked up, tears in his eyes. He staggered to his feet.

"Eugene Griffiths, you're under arrest for the suspected murder of Kaneyuki Miyama. You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to be speak to an attorney, and to have an attorney present during any questioning. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be provided for you. Do you understand what I just said to you?"

He nodded feebly and Mai cuffed him.

"Yasuhara, I suggest you come to the station."

* * *

"Holy fuck." Monk stared through the two way glass. "That is just… Holy fuck."

"He consented to a DNA sample," Mai said. "Madoka is running it now."

"And he was in Yasuhara's apartment?"

"Yeah."

"Damn."

"They were three years old when they were split up," Mai said, shaking her head. "I've asked Masako to take his case."

"We'll have to keep Oliver in custody until we have a confession."

"I know," Mai said. "Right, I'm going in."

"You sure you're up to this?"

"Yes."

Mai strode out of the observation room and into the interrogation room.

"Hello. My name is Detective Taniyama. I want to ask you a few questions today about this man."

She put down a picture of Kaneyuki Miyama from when he was alive.

"What can you tell me about this man?"

Gene didn't speak. Masako nudged him.

"Honestly is your best bet here, Mr Griffiths," Masako said.

"He approached me on Sunday," Gene spat. "He wanted to take me back to his place for sex. Offered me good money so I agreed. When I got there. He turned on me."

He bit his lip in an attempt to stop himself from shouting.

"He called me a filthy faggot. Tried to hit me with a chair."

Gene pulled back one of his sleeves to show a nasty purple bruise on his arm.

"He said I was an abomination and he would return me to the earth. He came at me with a knife and I pushed him away. He cut me."

He pulled back his other sleeve to show a long thin scab.

"He came at me again, so I pushed him again. He fell back and I ran."

"And he was breathing when you left him?" Mai asked.

"What?"

Mai put down the images from the crime scene.

"He was found dead on Monday morning by his cleaner."

"Oh fuck… No I didn't! I—"

"My client quite clearly acted in self defense," Masako stated, waving a hand in front of Gene to silence him. Tears began to spill from Gene's eyes.

Mai dropped her gaze. There was no point in arguing it. That would be up to a jury and a judge.

"Thank you," Mai said. "I'm afraid you will have to remain in custody, until a court can hear your case." She sighed and her tone softened, "In another vein, were you aware you have a twin brother?"

"What?"

"His name is Oliver… We brought him in before we found you…"

"Can I meet him?" Gene asked.

"I'll see if he wants to meet you."

* * *

"You're free to go," Mai said from the doorway.

Oliver looked up from the bed where he was sat.

"What?"

"We found your brother."

Oliver's eyes widened.

"What?"

"You hypothesised you might have a twin that you didn't know about," Mai said. "I found him."

"I was joking."

"Yeah, but… You were right."

"Fuck."

"Also, since when did you have a cat? I fed her, by the way."

"Since I moved out of my parents' place?" Oliver replied. "You searched my flat."

"Of course. I wouldn't let Monk do that alone. I also brought you the overnight bag."

"Lin has my laptop, doesn't he?"

"He offered to forge some geotagging data to prove you innocent."

Oliver smirked.

Mai offered him a hand, and Oliver took it.

"Do you want to meet him?" she asked. "Your brother, that is?"

"What's he like?"

"Like you with a beard, a bit skinnier. He could do with a few good meals in him."

"No, what's he like?"

"Nervous, scared. He was put in care, like you were, but he didn't get adopted. He ran away, now he walks the streets. He knows Yasuhara of all people. He didn't mean to kill Miyama. It was self defence. We have some evidence to suggest that Miyama was attempting to kill him… He's got a good chance with a jury, I think."

"Damn."

"Do you want to meet him?"

"How did you find him?"

"I found your birth father," Mai explained. "I got his name and Lin worked some magic too…"

"My birth father… Jeffery Griffiths…"

"You know about him?" Mai asked, surprised.

"I know he is out on parole for the murder of my birth mother. It's why I became a detective… I googled him one day and found the news reports. What's… What's he like?"

"Doesn't look much like you," Mai said. "He's… I think the system actually helped him. It sounds like was in a bad place when he did what he did. He doesn't want to meet you. Doesn't think he deserves too."

"Good."

"Yeah," Mai agreed. "I think that's for the best."

"Masako is representing my brother, right?"

"Yeah."

"Good."

"Do you…?"

"I suppose I should meet him. Can we do it somewhere other than an interrogation room?"

"I'll take you to his cell."

Mai turned to leave, but Oliver caught her arm.

"Thank you, Mai."

"All right, stop with all this serious business. You've called me Mai way too much lately," she teased.

"I hardly think 'Rookie' is appropriate any more…"

"Oh shut up, you'll make me blush. Come on."

Mai led him to his brother's cell and let him in.

* * *

"Well fuck," Gene said. "That is super weird."

"Tell me about it," Oliver replied. "Can I…?" He gestured to the other end of the cot bed and Gene nodded. Oliver sat down.

"So you're Oliver."

"Oliver Davis," Oliver confirmed.

"Eugene Griffiths, but most people call me Gene. They said they brought you in first. I'm sorry."

"It's fine. I was more put out by being arrested by my own partner than—"

"Partner? You're married to that detective?"

"What? No. No, I'm a detective too. That's why it was so…"

"Oh… Oh damn. Is everyone I know a cop?" Gene complained.

"Everyone? You mean Yasuhara?"

Gene looked away and scowled.

"He was probably using you as an informant," Oliver explained.

"That wasn't all he was using me for." Gene let out a low growl. "At least he paid well."

"He shouldn't have done that. It's against protocol." Oliver sighed. "You like him, don't you?"

"I thought I could trust him. I thought… I thought he was a friend."

"He lied to protect you."

"Protect himself more like." Gene lifted his feet up and hugged his knees against his chest. "You must be the person he said I reminded him of… How fucked up is that…"

"I am honestly questioning his eyesight," Oliver said. "How he did not realise we're… I'm going to suggest to the Chief that he has his vision checked."

"To be fair, it was dark most of the time. Even when you go back to someone's place, they usually leave the lights on low," Gene mumbled.

They fell silent.

"What's going to happen to me? That lawyer lady explained but…"

"You'll get given a court date, and maybe bail if they don't think you're a flight risk. Then you go to court, you present your evidence that you don't deserve prison time… They make a decision... Miss Hara is good. You should be fine."

"And then what? I go back to the streets?"

"Do you want to?" Oliver asked.

"I… I have nowhere else."

"My parents would take you in."

"What?"

"My adoptive parents. They would take you in. My mother would love it. She complains a lot that I don't visit enough."

"What?" Gene frowned.

"You'll have to shave your beard off, but we'll tell them that you're me and that you've quit your job and want to live at home again. She'd accept that right away and mother you for the rest of your life."

Gene squinted at Oliver.

"Are you being serious?"

"It'd get her off my back," Oliver muttered. "It's like faking my own death but less hassle."

Gene laughed.

"You're ridiculous."

"If you had met my mother you would not be saying that," Oliver muttered. He sighed. "She keeps telling me to ask Detective Taniyama out on a date."

"So you do like her!"

"She's my partner, of course I like her."

"So why don't you ask her out?"

"Because she's my partner. We're a good team…" Oliver sighed again. "Look, I need to go and retrieve my laptop from evidence before Lin finds anything on it. Perhaps… Perhaps we could talk again, some time?"

Gene nodded.

"I'd like that."

"And if Yasuhara wants to talk, give him a chance, you know, when you're ready. He's a good guy really."

"I know…"

Oliver banged on the door and was let out. Mai was waiting for him.

"You okay?" she asked.

"Yes."

Oliver strode away and Mai did not follow him. He headed to Lin's lab.

"Your internet history is boring," Lin said by way of a greeting.

"Or I know how to hide the interesting stuff," Oliver muttered.

"I'll admit, I didn't dig too hard." Lin picked up the laptop and handed it over. "You okay?"

"Yes." Oliver tucked the laptop under one arm. "I want to thank you, for finding him."

"It was all Mai really. She drove that whole angle. Monk wasn't even interested."

"She has good instincts."

"You should thank her."

"I know…" Oliver looked away. "But now is not the time for—"

"Are you kidding me?" Lin huffed. "That girl drove halfway around the county following leads to clear your arse. Now go and take her for dinner. Because if you wait too long, the higher ups are going to realise how good she is and promote her and move to another station and then it'll be too late."

Oliver scowled.

"They wouldn't promote her before me—"

"They would. Because you've stated you're not interested in leadership roles. You've stated you want to continue working cases. She hasn't. Now go and take her to dinner and tell her more about yourself. For fucks sake, you don't need to be so guarded around everyone, Oliver. We're your friends."

Oliver half nodded and walked out.

Lin shook his head in despair, and turned back to his own work.

* * *

 **Author's note: So yeah? My Halloween piece isn't going so great and I'm super tired but oh well! I will muddle through...**


	5. Chapter 5

Oliver did not take Mai to dinner. He went home, he fed Luna, he lay on his bed and he phoned his mother to ensure she knew everything was okay.

He returned to work the next day and acted as if nothing had changed. He and Mai were assigned a new case; a robbery. It was an open and shut case.

Gene was not given bail. He was considered too much of a flight risk. Oliver visited Gene whenever he had the chance. He also spent a large amount of his time reading about similar cases.

Mai saw all this happen and accepted it.

"I don't understand why you aren't pissed at him," Madoka said, one lunch time. Oliver had not joined them in the shared kitchen area, something he used to do.

"There's no point. He's fixated on helping Gene I think."

"He's hurting you."

"No he's not," Mai said quickly.

"You're not a very good liar."

"Madoka, please? I just want to eat my lunch."

Madoka relented and Yasuhara piped up.

"Gene won't speak to me. Still."

"These twins are more trouble than they're worth," Madoka muttered.

"No, they're not," Mai and Yasuhara retorted in unison.

"Oh sure. I give up with you both."

Madoka left.

"You like Gene, huh?" Mai asked Yasuhara quietly.

"Yeah."

"Wasn't it weird though? Paying him for…"

"Didn't you pay Lin to fix your laptop last year? It's no different."

"It's a little different," Mai said with a frown.

"How?"

"Well, there were emotions involved between you too."

Yasuhara laughed.

"You cannot sit there and tell me you do not have strong feelings for your laptop."

Mai chuckled.

"Okay, you have me there. But it's different, isn't it?"

"I don't know… I liked his company. We had a laugh. If he'd been in any other profession I would have asked him out… But I didn't want him to think I just wanted free sex." Yasuhara shrugged. "I don't know."

"I'm sorry it turned out this way," Mai said.

She took a bite of her sandwich.

"Oliver's been acting weird towards you, hasn't he?"

"Yes," she admitted. "He's stopped calling me 'Rookie' and I thought I'd be happy about that. It pissed me off so much when he started doing it… But I miss it. Yesterday, he actually called me Detective Taniyama. Like, to my face, not just because other people were there."

"Call him Detective Davis then. Maybe he'll realise how weird he's being."

"I'm not sure he'd notice. I think whatever he felt for me was fleeting and he's over it. I shouldn't date a co-worker anyway."

"We're a right mess, huh," Yasuhara muttered. "Do you want to get a drink after work? To commiserate?"

"Sure—"

"Taniyama, we have a case," Oliver called through the doorway.

He stuck his head in to check that she had heard with a raised eyebrow. Mai shoved the rest of her sandwich in her mouth, waved goodbye to Yasuhara and followed after her partner.

"What is it? What's the case?"

Oliver didn't respond, he just lead Mai down into the garage and to the car.

"Detective Davis," Mai said, stamping her foot down. "What is going on?"

"Get in the car."

"No."

"I am your superior," Oliver stated. "So get in the car."

"I will not."

Oliver took a deep breath.

"I'm not having this conversation here."

"I thought we had a case," Mai muttered. "So tell me what it is, or I'm returning to my desk."

"I want to talk to you in private."

Mai faltered.

"A-about what?"

"Get in the car. Please, Rookie…"

Mai complied. Oliver drove them through the town without speaking. Eventually, he pulled off on the side of a road, a little out of town.

"You're not going to murder me and dump the body are you?" Mai asked, looking around at their surroundings.

"No, I'm not."

"Then what's going on?"

"I've been neglecting you."

"I'm not a plant."

Oliver chose to ignore this.

"You did something for me, something I can never pay you back for. You cleared my name and you found my brother. Lin told me weeks ago that I should… But I didn't. I didn't listen to him and I let things deteriorate."

"Oliver…"

"I like you, I've liked you for a while. Lin told me I should ask you to dinner and I never did. After what happened…"

"If this is you trying to ask me out then you could inject a little more enthusiasm into your voice…"

Oliver ignored her.

"I don't think I'm in a place to be dating right now, but if you're still interested, perhaps after the trial…"

"You dragged me all the way out here for that?" Mai asked with a sigh.

"I didn't want the others listening in."

Mai laughed. Oliver glanced at her out of the side of his eye and smiled.

"You realise they could have bugged this car quite easily? And Madoka would have done that."

"Well, Lin searched my laptop so I can believe that Madoka would bug my car…"

"Oliver, I'll help you with the stuff for Gene, if you want me too."

"I—"

"Forget everything else, we're friends, Oliver. Let me help you."

"I can't let you do that."

Mai sighed again.

"You're a pain in the neck, you know that right?"

"Yes," Oliver said. "We should probably get to this crime scene."

"What?"

"We do actually have a case."

Mai rolled her eyes.

"Come on then," Mai said. "Let's get on it."

* * *

Mai was unable to take the tension in the courtroom and so she had left halfway through proceedings. She wasn't much better outside, but at least she could tap her leg without people glaring at her.

Yasuhara joined her.

"Hey."

"How's it going?" Mai asked. "What's happening?"

"Jury is deliberating or something."

"What do you think…?" Mai could not finish the question.

"He still won't look at me."

"I think he has bigger stuff on his mind," Mai pointed out. "You know, trial for manslaughter and all."

"Prosecution is saying that Gene took advantage of Miyama or something," Yasuhara muttered. "His nephew is pressing charges to try and suppress the implication that Miyama was a homosexual."

Mai shook her head.

"Their case isn't very strong though."

"Are you saying that out of hope? Or genuine conviction?" Mai asked.

"I don't know…"

Mai put her head in her hands.

"It's going to be okay, Mai."

"I know. Even if he is convicted for manslaughter it'll only be a few years."

"Unless the prosecution wins and he's put away for murder…" Yasuhara pointed out.

"I thought you said it was going to be okay?"

"Sorry."

Suddenly, the sound of hustle, bustle and scraping chairs was heard from inside the courtroom.

"They're done," Mai said, standing up.

People started filling out. She watched as a multitude of people she had never seen before exited the courtroom.

"Why can't people be cheering or something," Yasuhara muttered from behind her. "Can you see them?"

"No."

Oliver, Gene and Masako were the last three people to leave.

But Gene left with them.

"You're free to go?" Mai asked.

"The judge said he was only going to accept it if I had somewhere to go. I have to check in with social workers for the next year to show that I'm not back on the streets. Noll had to show that he could support me and stuff but—"

"It's all sorted," Masako summarised.

Mai beamed. She looked to Oliver. He yawned.

"So dinner?" Yasuhara said to the group at large. "Lin and Madoka will be off by now. Monk might join us if Ayako isn't being difficult."

"When isn't Ayako being difficult?" Mai asked under her breath.

"She's heavily pregnant, give her a break. She does have an excuse," Masako pointed out.

"Yeah, this time…"

They laughed as they left the courthouse. The group wandered down to centre of time and looked for somewhere to eat.

They let Gene pick.

He picked an Italian.

"Really?" Mai asked. "Of all the things you could pick…"

"The only meal I liked at the care home before I left was lasagne…" he mumbled.

"Lasagne is good," Oliver agreed. "When you meet my parents, I'll ask Luella to make you one."

"You can't—"

"Yes, I can," Oliver said. "I told you, she already feels guilty for not knowing you exist. A lasagne will make her feel better."

They were shown inside and about ten minutes later, Madoka, Lin and Monk turned up from work.

"What on earth are we going to do with two of them?" Monk asked.

"You're assuming I'm going to let him have anything to do with rabble like you," Oliver muttered.

"Oh, we're rabble? Are we?" Mai asked, eyebrow raised.

"No. He's rabble," Oliver replied. "And I'll throw Madoka in with him."

"Lin," Madoka said, slightly louder than necessary. "Do tell everyone here what you found on Oliver's laptop—"

"Lin wouldn't dare, that's a breach of his—" Oliver started.

"Why does Madoka know anything anyway?" Mai asked.

Oliver looked taken aback.

"Good point," he said. "Why do you know anything?" he demanded.

"Noll, I think she's winding you up," Gene mumbled.

"Oh, you spoilsport," Madoka said. "I could have had him going for at least five more minutes."

Oliver glared at Madoka, who just laughed. The waiter appeared and they all ordered. Mai decided to redirect the conversation.

"How's Ayako?"

"Like a bloated whale. Every part of her body is swollen and she's miserable," Monk replied. "She said if it takes too much longer, she's going to ask to be induced. And she blames me for it." He put on a high pitched whiny voice and said, "Only someone as slow as you could produce a baby this lazy!"

"When was her due date?" Masako asked.

"A week ago, but the doctor wasn't too worried."

"I thought there was a thing where the reason women give birth when they do is because the human body literally cannot hold a baby any bigger?" Mai asked.

"Yeah something like that," Monk said. "But Ayako does have wider hips so she'll be alright."

"I'm going to tell your wife you think she has a fat arse," Masako muttered.

"I didn't say that—"

Mai stopped paying attention for a moment. She had noticed where Yasuhara was looking. Straight at Gene.

Gene was resolutely ignoring Yasuhara.

"So Gene, what do you want to do now you're a free man?" she asked, cutting across Monk showing the sonograms that they had already all seen at least twenty times.

"I, uh… Well, we—" He gestured to Oliver. "—talked about me going back to school and stuff."

"To do your A-levels?" Mai asked.

"Well yeah, and then go from there…"

"Would you like to go to university?"

"I don't know," Gene said. "Maybe. That'd ages away."

"A-levels is a good start," Mai said, smiling. "Don't you think, Yasuhara?"

"Yeah, if that's what you want to do," Yasuhara said quickly.

He smiled and Gene half smiled back.

Progress, Mai thought.

As if the universe could sense how awkward it was at the table, Monk's phone started ringing.

"Ayako? What? Shit! Yes. I'll be there as soon as I can!"

He put the phone down and jumped up.

"I've got to go! Monk Jr is going to be born!"

"I thought you didn't know the gender," Mai muttered.

"We don't, but I'm putting my bets on a boy. I've got to go! You're all going to be godparents by the end of the night! Ahh!"

He literally ran from the restaurant.

"We can't all be godparents, " Yasuhara muttered. "I can't deal with that level of responsibility in my life."

"I want to be a godparent!" Mai said. "Then I get to dote on the kid! It's going to be so much fun!"

"Yeah. Crying, whining and pooing," Oliver muttered. "Sounds delightful."

"Don't you want kids?" Yasuhara asked him.

"Eh, I might. But I don't like the idea of cleaning up someone else's kid's poo…"

"Noll would make the worst parent," Madoka said.

"No he wouldn't," Lin countered. "Maybe not so good when they're young. But as soon as they start being interesting. You know, when they're learning and can talk and stuff…"

"Yeah, he's a good teacher," Mai said. "I mean look how much he's helped me as a detective."

She saw the corners of Oliver's lips upturn a little at her words.

"You're a good detective," he said.

"I think that's the nicest thing he's ever said," Madoka said. "Did anyone record that?"

The food turned up before the potential argument could flourish. Everyone tucked in with relish. It had been a long day after all.

"This is so good," Gene said through a mouthful of lasagne. "I could die happy, right now."

"Please don't."

* * *

A week after the trial, and the birth of Ayako and Monk's daughter, Naoko, Mai and Oliver went on their first date.

Oliver chose the restaurant, as the fussier of the two eaters. He went for a tapas bar — on Gene's suggestion.

"Why tapas?" Mai asked as they entered.

"Gene said that sharing food is a good ice breaker and I haven't had tapas in years."

They were shown to their table and ordered they drinks.

"Did you think we'd need an icebreaker?"

"I decided to prepare just in case," Oliver said.

Mai smiled.

"How's Gene?" she asked.

"He's fine. He's looking at colleges and stuff. He can't start until September, but one or two have short courses he can do before then."

"Does he not want to work until then?"

"I think if the incident hadn't happened, he would have continued quite happily in his previous line of work," Oliver said. "But after being attacked, he's not so keen."

"We could definitely get him something at the station. They've been looking for someone to clear out the evidence locker for ages…"

"I think he'd want to stay away from disturbing images for a while."

"Oh yeah, good point."

The waitress returned with their drinks and they quickly looked at the menu.

"Should we each just pick a couple of dishes?" Mai asked.

"Yes."

They did just that.

"Yasuhara is still upset Gene won't speak with him," Mai commented.

"Yeah I know," Oliver replied. "Gene… I told him they should talk but…"

"I understand he's upset but Yasuhara didn't lie to him, he just didn't tell him the whole truth and it's not like he arrested him or anything. I only found him because one of the other streetwalkers snitched on him…"

"I think he liked Yasuhara and it feels like a betrayal to him. I'm hoping once things have settled down he'll come round. But it might be too soon for that sort of thing anyway."

"He should probably get counselling."

"Yeah, I was going to ask Mum to talk to him. She wants to meet him anyway…"

"Have you still not introduced them?"

"Gene keeps wanting to put it off," Oliver said.

"Maybe we should do it at a group thing, so the pressure is less."

"We?" Oliver asked, eyebrow raised.

"Sorry," Mai said quickly. "I just—"

"I understand, you want to help."

"Yeah."

Oliver smiled.

"Perhaps you have a good idea there though," he said. "Ayako and Monk want to christen Naoko right?"

"Yes?"

"My parents have a large garden. We could throw a party for them. I can then introduce you as my girlfriend and Gene as my brother and Luella will have a lot to deal with so she won't be fixated on one thing…"

"Oh so I'm your girlfriend now?"

"Do you want to be?" Oliver asked, straight faced.

Mai studied him for a moment.

"Yeah okay then."

Oliver smiled. Mai smiled back.

Their food arrived and they begun to tuck in. Sharing plates of calamari and croquettes.

"This place is really good," Mai said. "Why have I not had tapas more?"

"You obviously haven't been on a decent date in a while…"

Mai laughed.

"I haven't been on a date in a while," she admitted. "A long while…"

"Because of me?" Oliver asked.

Mai shrugged.

"Partially. My last proper boyfriend was a bit of a dick really. He put me off dating for a while. Then I moved to this station and started working with you and… Well I was out with Masako one evening and a guy asked me out and I realised that I was waiting for you to ask me out."

"How long ago was that?" Oliver asked with a slight frown.

Mai looked away.

"Maybe a year or so ago…" she whispered.

"Oh…"

Mai ate another piece of calamari.

"When… When did you…" she trailed off, unable to finish her question.

But Oliver got the gist.

"It started when you stood up to me."

"What?"

"On our second case, I think? You told me I was wrong and then went and proved it. My last partner was scared of me so…"

"You did have a bit of a reputation," Mai said. "That's why my previous captain put me forward for this role. They didn't like me very much because I called them out on their sexist bullshit so they figured that you'd get rid of me…"

"That backfired for them."

"Yeah."

Oliver smiled.

"I'm glad it did."

"Me too."

* * *

The christening party was a great success. As Oliver suspected, Luella had been torn so many different ways that not one of her victims suffered too greatly. She gushed over the new baby. She interrogated Mai. She offered help to Gene.

Oliver managed to avoid the baby for the most part. He sat with his father and Lin, and watched Mai playing with some of Monk's young cousins. He knew that off to one side, Gene was finally talking to Yasuhara. From the snippets he overheard, it sounded like they were talking about food. Good. A safe topic.

Things were going okay.

He began to smile, but his phone buzzed in his pocket. It was the Chief.

"Davis, I'm sorry to call you on your day off, but we have a big murder case. I need you and Taniyama on it right away. I can't get hold of her though."

"We're at Monk and Ayako's kid's christening party. She turned her phone off," Oliver explained.

"Great, I'll send you the location."

The Chief hung up.

Lin looked around.

"Work?"

"Yeah."

He stood up, stretched and pocketed his phone.

"Rookie," he called. Mai looked around with a frown. "We have a case." He tossed her the keys. "You can drive."

She beamed, and led the way.

* * *

 **Author's note: This is a little late but I also have no more fresh work to give you all... And nanowrimo has now started so nothing new is going to come until December and I feel really bad... Sorry...**


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